Cork village ‘held at ransom’ by lack of water infrastructure
As Ireland's housing crisis continues, elected members of Cork County Council have slammed Uisce Eireann for stunting the growth of various towns in the county.
Speaking at Monday’s full council meeting, Cobh Fine Gael Cllr Sinéad Sheppard said the village of Carrignavar is being “held at ransom” by the lack of progress on the delivery of a wastewater treatment upgrade in the area.
She said this lack of progress means that no new homes can be built in the area as they cannot connect up to a wastewater treatment network.
“We now have a derelict site with a number of houses because we can’t hook up to a wastewater treatment,” said Cllr Sheppard. “This is an issue that’s ongoing across the county.
“We have a beautiful village that’s so close to the city and yet we’re basically telling people up there they cannot build a house. If you’ve grown up in Carrignavar and you want to raise a family close to your own family, that can’t happen because no houses can be built up there,” she added.
Ms Sheppard was speaking in response to correspondence received from Uisce Éireann by Cork County Council which said that because of the scale of water infrastructure upgrades need across the country, not all projects can be progressed or funded in the current investment cycle.
John Dempsey, Local Authority Engagement Director, Uisce Éireann, said: “Uisce Éireann is investing €5.2 billion in the period from 2020-2024 in drinking water and wastewater quality and capacity and in delivering new infrastructure. Even with this level of sustained investment, given the scale of what is needed nationally, projects must be prioritised.”
Cobh Fine Gael Cllr Anthony Barry said: “The fundamental issue here is Irish Water (Uisce Éireann) hiding behind Cork County Council and saying that with prioritisation, the council put it (Carrignavar) down the list.
“The fact is that the other works ahead of them should be finished at this stage and I think in most cases they haven’t even started in a meaningful way.
“That puts Carrignavar further down again, but it also puts many others down again and that’s not the council’s fault. That responsibility lies with Uisce Éireann.
“This kind of ducking and diving by Uisce Éireann just isn’t good enough,” added Cllr Barry.
In a new statement issued by Uisce Éireann, it said: "Uisce Éireann can confirm that Carraig Na bhFear (Carrignavar) was not included in Cork County Council’s list of prioritised sites for upgrade under the Small Towns and Villages Growth Programme (STVGP) under the current Investment Plan (2020-2024). Cork County Council currently have Carraig na bhFear ranked at number 12 in the list of candidate settlements under the STVGP. Schemes ranked 1 to 7 on the candidate list in county Cork are progressing at present. The ranking of Carraig na bhFear at number 12 was confirmed by Cork County Council when local authorities were asked to review the ranking of candidate settlements in their areas.”